Eternal
Tabernacle (installation)

Studies
on New Israeli Landscapes # 4

The holiday of Sukkot is one of the
three holidays mentioned in the Torah on which it was
customary to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem during the
period of the First and Second Temple. The name of the
holiday comes from the word Sukkah – the name
of the huts in which the Israelites encamped in the
desert during their exodus from Egypt (Exodus 33:6).
1 The holiday's relation to Jerusalem acquires additional
meanings in the Bible when several of the prophets refer
to the city using the term "Sukkah" –
see, for instance, Isaiah (1:8) and Amos (9:11). 2 The
holiday commemorates the exodus from Egypt by means
of the commandment to build sukkot (Leviticus 23:42)
– temporary structures topped by a covering of
branches or fronds. During the holiday, one's house
become a "temporary residence", while the
sukkah becomes a "permanent residence". During
the holiday, Jews are commanded to sit in the sukkah,
and to eat, study and even sleep in it during the seven
days of the holiday. One of the central customs related
to the holiday is the decoration of the sukkah; these
decorations lend it a festive air and are a means of
expressing the identity and ideological outlook of its
builders. In the ultra orthodox community, dominant
motifs include rabbinical figures; the seven ushpizin,
or exalted guests, who are symbolically invited to the
sukkah; and various religious symbols. Members of the
national-religious community adorn their sukkahs with
decorations that have a national character, such as
images of the local landscape, its fauna and flora,
and the Israeli declaration of independence. Jerusalem
and related symbols are always central motifs in sukkah
decoration. The sukkah symbolizes the tension between
a permanent residence and a temporary residence –
between "the ancient ideal of wandering referred
to by the symbols of the holiday and the ideal of permanent
residence, which is at the core of Zionism". 3
Eternal Tabernacle4 is composed of materials typically
used to construct a sukkah in Jerusalem: an aluminum
framework that is easy to construct and to dismantle,
a prefabricated covering and other do-it-yourself-style
paraphernalia. The cloth walls surrounding the sukkah
are made of water-resistant material, which is frequently
used to surround the modern sukkah. In many sukkahs,
symbols and motifs related to Jerusalem are imprinted
upon this cloth. The
motifs we used for the walls of Eternal Tabernacle are
taken from an area of the separation wall in Jerusalem.
This area, which is called the "Olive Pass"
was decorated by Akerstein Industries. The decoration
of the wall was commissioned by the Ministry of Defense,
in an a?empt to explore the possibility of artificially
"beautifying" the separation wall and thus
dissimulating its presence on the Israeli side.

Thanks to Itay Weiser, David Mauas,
Mery Goldwaser, Hagar Goren

1 The place name Sukkot is first mentioned
in the Torah when Esau and Jacob go their separate ways;
Jacob built a hut, or Sukkah, and named the place a?er
it.
2 See G. Hasan-Rokem, 1997.
3 Ibid.
4 Eternal Tabernacle is a paradoxical name that expresses
the tension between temporary and permanent residences.
It is the name of one of the companies that builds and
dismantles sukkahs.
Sources:
1. G. Hasan-Rokem, "Representation and Dialogue
in Folklore Research: The Poetics
and Politics of an Unperformed Festival," Jerusalem
Studies in Jewish Folklore,
19–20, 1997–1998.
2. G. Vakulinchuk, "Studies on New Israeli Landscapes
– Notes for a Project by Sala-
Manca (Jerusalem)," unpublished manuscript.
3.www.wikipedia. org